BOSTON, Mass. - Junior Hilary Puglia (Stoneham, Mass.) had a double, home run and four RBI as the University of Massachusetts softball team (19-11) defeated Boston University (14-26), 11-6, this afternoon. Senior KC Budrewicz (Buckland, Mass.) also added a home run as the Minutewomen have now won 12 games in a row.

UMass got out of the gates first by scoring two runs in the first inning without the benefit of a hit. Puglia and freshman Candice Molinari (Glendora, Calif.) led off with walks and then moved up a base after a wild pitch. Sophomore Katie Jo Kelley (Rainier, Ore.) drove in the games' first run with a sac fly. Senior Jamie Cahalan (Mesa, Ariz.) then reached on a fielder's choice as Molinari safely scored on the play.

The Minutewomen then scored three more times in the top of the second to take a 5-0 lead and knock starting pitcher Brittany Detwiler from the game. Freshman Amanda Morin (Worcester, Mass.) led off with a single and then sophomore Kristi Stefanoni (Columbus, N.J.) was hit by a pitch. BU ace Ashlee Freeman then came in to relieve Detwiler, but did not fare much better. Senior Aisha Franke (Philadelphia, Pa.) reached first on an error to load the bases for Puglia. Puglia roped the ball over the left fielder's head which one-hopped the fence and cleared the bases giving the Minutewomen a 5-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third, Liz Alley hit a two-run home run which was her eighth of the season tying the BU single-season record. Puglia then hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth to give UMass a 6-2 lead. After back-to-back doubles to start the bottom of the fourth, sophomore Jenna Busa (Lexington, Mass.) was lifted in favor of junior Kelli Arnold (Kalama, Wash.). Arnold loaded the bases,, but then got three of the next four batters out on two fielder's choices and a strikeout to get out of the jam with minimal damage. The only blemish for Arnold in there was a walk to bring in one BU run and make the score 6-4.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Terriers loaded the bases with nobody out, but were unable to score. Arnold got a double-play and a strikeout to get out of the jam.

The Massachusetts offense then put the game away with five runs in the final two innings. Infield singles by Stefanoni, Franke and Molinari loaded the bases. On a pop-up by Kelley for the inning's second out, BU catcher Josey Mendez threw the ball into left field trying to nab Stefanoni on third. Stefanoni scored on the play and then Franke scored one pitch later when Freeman uncorked a wild pitch on the mound. Cahalan drove in another run with a RBI double to put UMass up 9-4. UMass then added two more in the seventh on a solo home run by Budrewicz and a pinch-hit RBI single by sophomore Lesley Ferrara (Stamford, Conn.).

In the bottom of the seventh Chiya Louie hit a two-run home run off Arnold. It was the first earned run that she had given up in the last 39.2 innings. BU out-hit UMass, 14-10,, but committed three errors. Busa worked three-plus innings. She gave up seven hits and four earned runs. She struck out two and did not walk a batter. Arnold got the win to improve her record to 9-5. She allowed seven hits and two earned runs in four innings of work. Arnold walked two and struck out four.

Massachusetts will host Connecticut tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Internet through SportsJuice. The link will be available on www.umassathletics.com.